Nursing Leadership

Nancy W. Gaden, DNP, RN, FAAN
Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer

Nancy Gaden is the Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Boston Medical Center. Before being named CNO in early 2014, Nancy was System Vice President, Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer of Hallmark Health System. In this role, she was a key member of Hallmark’s executive team and directly oversaw patient care services. Under her leadership, Hallmark Health received Magnet Designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Prior to her tenure at Hallmark, Nancy served as senior Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer roles at Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, South Shore Hospital and Milton Hospital.
 

Kellie Smith, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Critical Care

Kellie joined BMC in the summer of 2014, having served as a nursing leader at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. As part of the Hallmark Health System, she implemented a critical care eICU telemedicine program at Melrose Wakefield Hospital and instituted an advanced practitioner program in critical care. She has spent the greater part of her 30-year career in the critical care arena, as a staff nurse, then moving on to nursing leadership. Kellie strives to ensure excellence in quality care that is grounded in partnerships among patients, families and healthcare practitioners. She is committed to ensuring a just culture. Kellie received her diploma from St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing, her BSN from Emmanuel College, and MS in Nursing at Regis College. She also has her Nurse Executive Certification.
 

Cheryl A. Porter, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Medical Surgical Services

Cheryl joined BMC in 2005 as a Staff Nurse, she has held the position of Charge Nurse, Nurse Manager, Associate Director and Director of Medical/Surgical. In 1994, she was awarded a Chancellor’s Scholarship and received her BSN from U-Mass Boston. She then went on to receive a MS in Administration from Boston College where she was presented a “Distinguished Service Award.” Prior to BMC, Cheryl worked in Human Services Management for over a decade integrating program management with finance and administration. Her accomplishments include developing and enhancing the financial skills of mid to senior level managers and integrating program development with staff through empowerment and education.
 

Diane Hanley, MSN, RN-BC, EJD
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Nursing Education, Quality & Professional Practice

Diane Hanley has many years of nursing leadership experience in both the academic and community hospital setting where she focused predominately on the development of professional nursing practice using the Magnet Recognition program and is committed to optimal outcomes for patients, families, nurses and the community. Diane Hanley serves as the delegate for the Board of Medicine from the Board of Registration in Nursing. She received her baccalaureate degree from St. Anselm College, an MSN from Salem State University and attained an executive juris doctorate with a major in healthcare at Concord Law School.
 

Carlos McCormack MS, RN
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Emergency Services

Carlos joins the BMC Nursing leadership team as a passionate and dedicated healthcare leader, who brings a wealth of experience in Emergency Services and Critical Care. For the last seven years, he has held senior leadership roles at Methodist Hospital in Southern California, as well as the Medical Center of Aurora in Colorado. During this time, Carlos was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Emergency Services department including administration, staff development, clinical quality improvement initiatives and patient throughput. He is committed to continuing BMC's mission of providing excellent medical care in an environment that respects each individual’s right to dignified health care.
 

Lisa Zani, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Maternal Child Health

Lisa Zani joined BMC in 2017 as the Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Maternal Child Health. Previously, Lisa served as Chief Nursing Officer at Good Samaritan Medical Center. She has held various nursing leadership positions in Massachusetts such as St Luke's Hospital, Sturdy Memorial Medical Center, Metro West Medical Center and BIDMC Plymouth. Lisa earned her BSN at Simmons College and MA in Nursing Administration at Regis College. Her clinical background has been in Labor and Delivery and Lactation Care.
 

Stephanie Martinez, MBA, BSN, RN, CPHQ
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Care Management & Social Work

Stephanie Martinez has been at BMC since 2001. She started at BMC as a staff/charge nurse in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and spent several years as a Quality Improvement Project Specialist and Manager in the Quality & Patient Safety department before assuming the role of Nurse Manager in 2015. Her experience prior to joining BMC includes med/surg and critical care travel RN experience, as well as, ambulatory cardiovascular specialty and primary care affiliated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Stephanie appreciates a fast-paced, learning environment. She places high value on teamwork, professionalism and a focus on the patient among her staff and is a strong advocate to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across the organization.
 

Patrick Rhault, MHA, BSN, RN, NE-BC
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Ambulatory Services

Patrick was the former Nursing Director for General Internal Medicine/Primary Care, where he partnered with the medical and operations leadership to advance many of the department’s strategic initiatives. In addition, he has had many accomplishments with his nursing team, including work with telephone triage, leadership development and succession planning, and significant quality improvement for our accountable care (ACO) patients. Before working at BMC, Patrick was at Providence Community Health Centers as an Assistant Director for several service lines. Patrick began his career as an inpatient nurse but quickly fell in love with the opportunity that outpatient nurses have to impact patients’ lives.
 

Rebecca Hayes, DNP, RN, RNFA, CNOR
Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Perioperative Services

Rebecca joined BMC in 2018 having served as Nursing Director of the Menino and Moakley operating rooms. As Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Perioperative Services, Rebecca oversees the Integrated Procedural Platform areas and the Central Processing department and is committed to excellence in patient care and achieving optimal outcomes through evidence-based practices. Before her time at BMC, Rebecca held various advanced clinical and leadership roles at Mount Auburn Hospital. Rebecca earned her BSN and MHA from Boston College, an MSN from Southern New Hampshire University, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Chamberlain University.
 

Geralyn Saunders, MSN, RN
Chief Nursing Information Officer

As a leader in the field of nursing informatics, Geralyn has led a number of clinical implementations in her 40 year career at Boston Medical Center. Recently in her role as Chief Nursing Information Officer, she was a key member of the leadership team that installed Epic in the inpatient areas. Her areas of responsibility included managing training and activation support, coordinating operational readiness activities and leading the project’s communications work group. Geralyn has both a BS and MSN from Boston University School of Nursing.